The understanding developed through intensive monitoring over 18 years of Eighteen Mile Swamp on North Stradbroke Island, south-eastern Queensland, Australia, is discussed in this paper. This wetland is the largest coastal peat swamp in eastern Australia and is typifi ed by its sandy, poor nutrient substrate and peat base. On-ground and remote monitoring was commissioned to detect any changes resulting from water extraction from the Swamp, which commenced in 1992. During the monitoring period (1988 until 2006) the Swamp was subject to fi res and drought. The vegetation has displayed great resilience to many environmental perturbations, but changes in water level can, and have, altered the biota profoundly. Through analysis of structural and fl oristic data collected against the backdrop of natural and artifi cial change, the limitations to monitoring, when the basic function of the ecosystem is unknown, are highlighted. The monitoring goal is confounded by a high degree of natural variation, the long cycles of natural change, and the effect of extreme events. In order to determine the effect of human activity on such areas it is imperative to have a network of reference sites in similar areas and to sustain monitoring for long periods—at least 50 years—accompanied by information on relevant environmental effectors.